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Brendt Christensenthat Christensen had made an effort to clean the front passenger seat “to a more diligent extent” than the rest of it.

That, offi cials said, “may be indica-tive of an attempt to conceal or destroy evidence.”

Investigators later obtained audio-tapes made while Christensen was under surveillance. In the tapes, he allegedly discussed how he had kidnapped Zhang and brought her back to his apartment. Federal prosecutors also said Chris-tensen was caught on tape describing how Zhang resisted and fought back against Christensen, and threatening someone close to the case to whom he’d made incriminating statements.

Christensen’s lawyers in Champaign, Thomas, Anthony and Evan Bruno, said that he had never been in trouble with the law, enjoys support from his wife and family, has a bright future in physics, and has such a good reputa-tion in the community that the notion Christensen committed such a crime is inconceivable.

“No one has come out of the wood-work in the recent days with all the publicity this case has had to say, ‘We saw this coming,’” said Anthony Bruno. “The public would be best served to reserve judgment, as would the system of jurisprudence, until all the evidence has been presented.”

Christensen was brought up in a two-story frame home in a working-class neighborhood of Stevens Point, with an

older brother and a younger sister. His father, Michael, who worked in con-struction and had a job stocking vend-ing machines, took the boys to martial

arts classes. His mother, Ellen, stayed at home to raise the children.

Christensen was on the wrestling and track teams as a freshman, according to the school yearbook. The family, accord-ing to former neighbors, occasionally went to Mass and church picnics at Saint Peter Catholic Church in town.

A neighbor, Jen Zach, said: “We have great memories of them. Just a solid family.”

But it seems the family also experi-enced a measure of distress. The parents divorced in 2013, according to records, with Michael Christensen moving to Michigan and Ellen Christensen near Milwaukee.

Christensen, meanwhile, attended school at the University of Wisconsin in Stevens Point for one year before he transferred to the University of Wiscon-sin at Madison, where he graduated in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree, offi cials said.

At Wisconsin, professor Matthew Herndon said Christensen was a student in an undergraduate class he taught and did research for him. He called Christensen a good student and said he completed a research project that studied data from the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.

“To me, he seemed to be a completely typical student, not unusual in any way,” Herndon said.

Former classmate Souvik Dutta said he was “dumbfounded” by the news, recalling Christensen as a nice guy and “very calm.”

At Illinois, Christensen joined a phys-ics department that is large, with close to 300 graduate students and more than 60 faculty members, and well-respected.

From respected physics student to kidnapping suspect

BRENDT CHRISTENSEN, a former Ph.D. student researcher from the Uni-versity of Illinois, is accused of kidnap-ping Zhang Yingying, a missing Chinese visiting scholar whose mysterious disappearance has galvanized the U.S. community and beyond.

Christensen, who was indicted last week on one count of kidnapping in connection with Zhang’s disappearance, was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Urbana, Illinois.

Christensen’s attorneys have argued that he had no criminal history, has ties to the community in Urbana and Cham-paign, Illinois, and should have a right to take part in his own defense. He has not yet entered a plea and is being held at a Macon County jail.

Growing up in north central Wiscon-sin, the United States, Christensen was a smart, friendly boy — the sort of child neighbors recall years later with bland fondness.

He did well enough in high school to study physics at the University of Wisconsin, then went on to graduate school at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. There, he was in the prestigious doctorate program for a time and, working as an instructor, was so well-liked that he was rated outstand-ing by students.

It came as a shock when Christensen was arrested and charged with a brutal crime: the June 9 kidnapping of Zhang, who is now presumed dead.

In court documents, federal offi cials alleged Christensen’s mobile phone showed he had visited a web forum called “Abduction 101” and threads called “per-fection abduction fantasy” and “planning a kidnapping.”

Law enforcement offi cials said, too, that Christensen had attended a walk and concert on the University of Illinois campus in honor of Zhang, 26, and was captured on audiotape explaining how he had kidnapped her and held her captive at his apartment.

At the walk, prosecutors said, he was recorded discussing the characteristics of his “ideal victim” and identifi ed people among the crowd who fi t that description.

According to federal offi cials, Zhang was going to an apart-ment complex in Urbana to sign a lease June 9 when she

texted the apartment manager to say she was running behind. Video cameras caught her trying to fl ag down a bus, then waiting at another stop.

Christensen was captured on security video, according to court documents, approaching her in his black Saturn. Police tracked the owners of Saturns in the county and concluded that Christensen’s car had been in the videos because of its sunroof and cracked front hubcap.

After initially telling police that he was at home playing video games or sleeping that afternoon, he later told police that he had indeed picked up “an Asian female” who was standing at a corner, looking dis-tressed, according to a federal affi davit.

She had gotten out of his car after he made a wrong turn and, according to Christensen, she panicked. Police later searched the car and concluded

Condensed matter physics, Christensen’s area of research, is the department’s largest focus area and has two Nobel laureates to its credit, according to the university.

Christensen initially was in the doctor-ate program but later decided to withdraw and get a master’s degree. Professor Lance Cooper, the associate head of graduate programs in the physics department, said Christensen never gave any personal rea-sons for that.

Christensen lived off-campus with his wife, Michelle, who was valedictorian of her high school class when she graduated from Stevens Point a year before her hus-band. They lived in an apartment complex about 5 km northwest of the university’s sprawling campus.

A fi nancial affi davit fi led July 3 lists Christensen as unemployed, while show-ing his wife makes US$1,800 a month. The couple pay US$900 a month in rent, US$100 in utilities and US$150 in other costs, according to the affi davit.

Jon Bowman, who worked out with a group that included Christensen, said: “He would nearly always come with a woman. Most of us who were working out were usually talkative and in a good mood, but Christensen was different. He and the woman always wore black, and they kept to themselves. They never said anything to the rest of us.”

Christensen’s Facebook page fi lls in some holes in his profi le. His musical interests range from Beethoven to European metal bands, including Iron Maiden and Amon Amarth. Favored TV shows include “Fra-sier,” “King of the Hill” and anime shows like “Naruto” adapted from the Japanese manga series.

Among his preferred books: “Lord of the Rings,” “Fight Club” and “American Psycho.”

Christensen also had an OkCupid account that said he was “married and in an open relationship.”

In his profi le, he wrote: “I’m Brendt. Grad student at UIUC. I’m pretty chill and easy going. ... It’s pretty much impos-sible to make me mad. I want to experience everything and test my limits.

“I also work out a ton but don’t mind if you don’t. Fitness has been a passion of mine since junior high.”

His Facebook page also shows how Zhang’s disappearance and Christensen’s arrest has stoked anger toward him. Zhang’s supporters have left messages on his posts, both in English and Chinese.

“It’s only a matter of time whether you confess your crimes or not,” one woman posted July 3, the day of Christensen’s fi rst court appearance. “You are sure to get the punishment deserved. Demon.”

(SD-Agencies)

This photo shared on social media shows a man who bears a very strong resemblance to accused kidnap-per Brendt Christensen at a rally for his alleged victim Zhang Yingying. Two other photos show the same man at the event. SD-Agencies